Toasted Tuesdays

But yes, I know, it is, in fact, Wednesday 😂

Good morning!

When I started my blog over 15 years ago, I didn't really have a plan for it, and I certainly wasn't thinking it would become a soup-focused publication, despite the name (which was more of a description of my foodie self than anything).

Of course, back in 2008, food blogging wasn’t even a thing yet so no one really had a plan, except to post dinners photographed under iffy fluorescent lighting.

The whole backstory is not interesting enough to occupy space in your inbox, so I'll just sum it up by saying that over time the blog forged its own path, and both readers and Google seemed to prefer when I published soup recipes. Which was perfectly fine with this soup addict.

But … soup is very seasonal. And quite naturally so. I mean, I eat soup probably 300 out of 365 days of the year, but even *I* need a break from it now and then.

For the last many years, March or April has signaled the start of my blog's off-season and, like parents of newborns who are told to sleep when the baby sleeps, I often take a hiatus from both the blog and this newsletter until late July or so. When people are getting fed up with the heat and humidity and start dreaming of all things autumn ... jeans and cool breezes and fall leaves. And soup.

I do have spring and summer soup recipes on the blog, but by March, most people are looking for salads and pasta and other summer goodies. And who can blame them, because I am, too.

This year, however, I don't really want to take a break. Or at least, not yet.

So, I'm starting a new thing: A recipe series built around another type of food. One that actually complements soup but is wonderful enough to stand on its own, and goes well with salads and pasta, too.

The series is called Toasted Tuesdays, and before your mind wanders into the weed(s) 😂 it's all about yummy things on toast.

And not just toast, but fried toast. If you've never had fried toast, you're in for a lunch-changing treat. I'll go into more detail at the end, if you're curious, but for now, let's dig in and see what's what.

Assuming my cancer behaves itself, this series will run to June, with a new Toasted Tuesdays recipe and newsletter dropping every, well, Tuesday. Except for today. And also any week where I just can’t get my ish together.

Then I might take a short break … to rest up and gear up for fall soup season. Which seems incredibly far away except that it’s already spring. 🤯

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Chopped Grinder Fried Toast

The first edition of my new series, Toasted Tuesdays, features this Italian-sub-inspired beauty. Fried toast piled high with goodies from the deli chopped into delicious bites with peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce, and tossed with mayo and sub dressing.

It’s super hearty — a lunch in itself with chips — and extra tasty drizzled with a little balsamic glaze.

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Smash Burger Tacos

In between working on my spring line-up of fried toasts, I also cooked up this Smash Burger Taco, the concept of which is going viral on social media. As someone always looking for interesting work-from-home lunches, I wanted to try it myself. And it’s a quick and easy winner!

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More About Toasted Tuesdays

I watch a lot of food videos on social media. You’ve seen the latest trend, I’m sure: The cook prepares the food with lots of quick cuts and short, almost violent movements, amplified with *splat* and *sizzle* noises. Things fried and dipped. Juicy food gets smooshed to let the juices run for the camera. And of course the knife blade scraping noisily over the finished food to demonstrate crispiness.

It's all tremendous fun, food p0rn at its best. The downside, though, is that while it's satisfying to watch, I don't actually want to cook any of it. Big, stuffed, awkward-to-bite sandwiches regularly hit my feed, and there's just no way that I'm going to smoke a brisket or pork shoulder for a lunch sandwich.

There are people who would. I personally know people who would lol. I'll fry some stuff, but that's about it. (And somehow strangest is when the cook plucks out the soft innards of a baguette so that “more fillings will fit.” Omg, the bread carnage 😂)

That's where the open-faced fried toasts come in. For most of my life, cottage cheese toast — like this one on the blog from 2010(!) — with chopped cherry tomatoes and cucumbers has been a regular part of my summer lunches, with a green salad or some raw veggies with hummus.

One night, while staring at the ceiling in insomnia, ideas for things on fried toast just started playing through my brain, like a movie. And the next day, I made one of them, and it was … delicious.

Why fried bread? Because toasting a thick slice of bakery bread with some olive oil in a skillet creates a sturdy, satisfyingly crispy platform upon which to stack delicious proteins and interesting toppings. And frankly, sometimes just one slice of bread is all you need to make a balanced sandwich (no plucking!).

My goal with these fried toasts is that they're both makeable and eatable. Most are perfect for lunch — if you work from home, for example, they take about 15 minutes to assemble. Others are better for dinner, or lunch with prep-ahead (e.g., I have a recipe coming up with caramelized onions; easy to make but takes about a half hour).

I should emphasize that these are not modest peanut-butter-and-jelly morsels. They're hearty, they're hefty, and they're often meals in themselves with a side of chips (wait until you see The Bourdain!).

So, I hope you’ll enjoy, Toasted Tuesdays, where the motto is, More fillings, less bread!

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Until next time, friends, stay kind 🫶🏻, practice self-care 😌, and get ready for some toast 🍞